Shadows
by BirdSpell
Summary: Dolltalia universe. Four Nations are missing. Those left behind are going out of their minds with worry. With the danger growing ever nearer, is it even possible to save them before time runs out? PruCan, some GerIta, human and Nation names used. I own absolutely nothing.


Shadows

Prologue

**Hey everyone! So, before you read this story I just want to apologize for any OOCness. That's all for now. See you later!**

It was late.

Technically, even Nations needed some sleep. Technically, no one should be up at two in the morning without sleeping for at least an hour beforehand. Technically, most of the Nations should have left America and returned to their respective homes by this point, a day and a half after the world meeting.

But so much had gone wrong, no one had even considered returning home.

By now, everyone knew the truth: Belarus, Canada, Liechtenstein, and Italy were all missing. All they had to go on was a nightmare, a scream, and a few whispered words from a mirror. No one had been with the four when they vanished, and no one, not even England, had any idea what kind of creature could do this.

Basically, they were all well and truly fucked.

Alfred set up places for everyone to stay, giving directions in a soft voice more reminiscent of his missing brother than the boisterous American. But now, hours later, most Nations were still awake, pacing the floor, sitting on their beds, channel surfing… they may as well have stayed together and discussed this instead of separating to sleep.

Four Nations gone, all four different and separate, except in one way. All four had friends and family who were panicking or near panicking about them. America, France, and England tried every magical and telepathic method open to them to reach Canada. Switzerland paced the floor of his room. Russia and Ukraine tried to piece together exactly what had happened. Japan, Germany, and Prussia stayed quiet, all trying to think of some way this could have been avoided. One by one, they all slipped off into sleep.

But their dreams were anything but peaceful.

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It started as just another evening.

"If I make you leave, I won't let you come back."

Prussia laughed, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Ah, come on, Birdie. We all know no one can resist the awesome Prussia for long!"

Both Nations chuckled. They'd had a million variations of this conversation, and it had become habit more than anything else.

"So, the meeting's tomorrow."

Canada hummed his agreement, tapping the wine glass in his hands against his lips. "I might not go."

"W-what?" There was a loud crash as Prussia turned to look at Canada, knocking the wine bottle on the table to the floor in his haste.

"Damn it, Gil… That'll take forever to clean up."

"Sorry… But you're part of the G8! You can't just _not _go!"

Matthew sighed. "It's not like it matters; they won't notice one way or the other."

"I'll notice!"

"Yeah, well, technically you're not even supposed to be there."

"Ah, but technically I'm not supposed to be _here_ either."

Matthew laughed. "Which brings us back to our original point…"

"Oh, no. You're not gonna get out of discussing this. I'm not America, you know; your deviousness will not save you this time!"

"You really think I'm devious?" Matthew raised an eyebrow in a way that would have most Nations begging for mercy. Not the awesome Prussia, though.

"Birdie, everyone thinks you're devious. Anyway, why would you _not_ go to the meeting? Do you have any idea how _bored_ I'll be without you?"

"It's not like we ever get anything done anyways."

Gilbert thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "True enough. But how will we survive without you to shame America into compliance?"

Canada pretended to consider this. "Okay, you win. For now. I'll go, but you owe me one. Wait, two."

"How'd you figure that?"

Matthew glared at him. "You got wine all over my carpet. Now I'll have to clean it up."

"Fine, I owe you two. Hey, I should get going; see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

The two Nations stood, walking to the door. "Now get lost, before I beat you with my hockey stick."

"But I thought we were _friends_!" Prussia mock wailed. "Why are you so _mean_ to me, Birdie?!"

Canada laughed. "Don't be so overly dramatic! That's Papa's job!"

Prussia stood up straight, putting on a hilariously overwrought British accent. "Don't compare me to that frog!"

Matthew shoved him down the stairs. "Oh, go on!"

Gilbert grinned at him. "Don't pretend you don't love it. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Gil. See you tomorrow."

The Canadian waved once and shut the door, leaning against the firm wood with a sigh. "Fucking hoser." But he was smiling, and his words were full of a fond exasperation. He glanced at the wine bottle on the carpet. "I'll just get ready for bed, then I'll clean that up."

He headed upstairs, yawning as he reached his room. The door slid open easily, and he fell back onto his bed with a sigh. "I should really get my stuff out for the meeting…"

He was distracted by Kumajirou pawing at his leg. "Huh? Oh, Kumajiki. What is it?"

"Have to go out."

"What, now? Can't you go out by yourself?"

"no. Can't reach the door."

"Ugh, fine." Canada stood, grabbing his coat from where it hung by his desk. Then he stopped. "Kumakagi, does it feel like something's… off, to you?"

"No. Why?"

"…"

Kumajirou stared at him. "There's nothing there."

"Right, right. I must just be tired. Let's go."

He opened the door, and the bear trotted out. Matthew, however, hesitated. He turned around. "I could have sword something was…!"

A shadowy figure appeared, standing by his bed. It grinned.

"What beautiful eyes…"

"K…Kuma…"

There was no answer. The bear was already halfway down the stairs. Matthew swallowed. "Gil, if this is you, it's really not funny! Joke's over, okay?! Now stop it!"

But the figure kept moving closer. Canada backed up until he hit the wall.

"Suchh… beautiful eyes… So bright…"

"_PRUSSIA!_"

By the time Kumajirou reached the bedroom, Canada was gone.

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His eyes were closed.

That was it, right? That was why he couldn't see anything. Because he'd always had excellent night vision, and Nations didn't just go blind.

But he couldn't open them…

How long had he been in this dark place? Hours? Days? He couldn't tell. He'd tried counting seconds, but he'd lost count somewhere around a hundred each time. He'd given up on that a while ago.

At this point, he knew his prison pretty well. Even with his eyes closed – because they were closed, they _were_, he just couldn't open them for some reason – he could walk around and feel the walls. He was in a small room, maybe ten by eleven feet, with bars along one wall. A cell door, maybe? There was a thin breeze coming from a barred window a foot or two above the ground. Occasionally he heard yelling and screaming. Most likely from other cells.

Once he thought he heard Belarus. But that was just his imagination, right? No way Belarus was here… that was impossible.

Right?

No way other Nations were here. He was just unlucky, again, and had gotten in the way of something. That was always how he got involved in these things, even though he tried to be on good terms with everyone. Oddly enough, a lot of his friends seemed to be on the other side whenever war broke out, but still…

More screaming. More yelling. Was that Liechtenstein? No, no, he was hearing things. Yes, that was it.

He found a bed, built into the wall just below where his hand had touched the stone as he walked around. He sat on it for a moment. Then he stood and continued walking.

More screaming. Crying now, too. And whimpering, very close by. Maybe on the other side of the wall.

There was a hole in the corner. He almost fell in it. It was probably best not to think about what it was for.

More crying. It was closer now. Huh. It sounded almost like it was in the same cell as him.

There was no one else there, unless they were completely silent and making sure to stay away from him.

Was that him, then? No, it couldn't be. He hadn't cried in a long time.

…That was what he kept telling himself, anyway.

Footsteps. A door rattled as it was opened. Close by, too. Was it his? No, not that close. The one next to him, then. Where the whimpering was coming from. Huh.

More footsteps. Two pairs now. Another door opened. His for real this time. Someone was shoved in. A cell mate?

Better than being alone.

Someone knelt beside him. When had he sat down? Or maybe his cell mate was just ridiculously tall…

He found himself restraining giggles at the image. Well, laughing was better than being terrified. Or maybe he was just hysterical. A hand touched his shoulder, and he jumped.

"Are you all right?"

He knew that voice, didn't he? It was… it was… he couldn't quite remember. What was the question again? Oh, right. Why would they ask that?

"Yes, I'm fine."

Was that his voice? It was hoarse, like he'd overused it. Some of that screaming had been very close…

But not that close. Besides, he'd know if he'd been screaming.

Another mystery for the collection.

"Well, how did you get here?"

How did he get here? He remembered being scared, and there was that shadowy… thing, and then a long dark tunnel… He remembered fighting, and landing a good kick in the creature's stomach… Then its hands had covered his face and he'd woken here… wherever here was.

He said as much to his cell mate.

"O-oh. I didn't fight; I just… must have fainted or something, ve. I think I screamed. Maybe Germany can find us!"

Italy, right, that was his name. How had he forgotten that?

"Italy… I don't think Germany can find us. I don't think anyone can."

"B-but-"

He cut the other Nation off. "Listen, if we want to escape we'll have to work together. Do you know if any of the others are here?"

"Uh… Belarus and Liechtenstein might be around… They disappeared too."

"Disappeared…?"

"Ve… yes. Everyone's known about it since the meeting yesterday. You and Belarus didn't come, and Ukraine and Prussia were really worried!"

Oh. Right. There was a meeting… yesterday? He'd been there a day?

Well, one mystery solved.

Gil was worried? About _him_?

"Canada?"

"Oui?"

"A-are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes… why do you ask?"

"You just seem really distracted… and you're speaking… French?... and you're not looking at me…"

"O-oh, yes I'm fine. I just can't open my eyes is all."

"What are you talking about?"

"I-Italy?"

No. No, it wasn't possible.

"…"

"Italy… what… please…"

"Canada… your eyes are open."

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"Birdie!"

Prussia sat upright with a strangled cry tearing at his throat. _No… no, it's not possible… It was just a dream, right? Right?_

Nations didn't just… go blind. It had to have a cause, related to their country… and Prussia had been keeping tabs on Belarus, Canada, Liechtenstein and Italy, just to ensure the loss of their personifications wasn't effecting the countries as a whole. There was nothing that could cause damage happening in Canada… nothing that could blind him.

So it was a dream.

Germany sat up in the bed next to his. They'd decided to share a room for comfort's sake. "Prussia? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah, West, I'm fine. It was just a dream."

"What about?"

Gilbert sighed. "Take a wild guess."

Ludwig folded his arms across his chest. "I guess that was a stupid question."

"Yeah…"

A brief silence.

"I saw them."

"What?"

"I saw Canada and Italy… Well, not _saw_, but I was there."

"What?! Are they all right?!"

Prussia shook his head. "I don't know. They were in a prison, or something- I couldn't see. There was only darkness. They were really scared though, I know that. And I saw Canada's house, the night he… disappeared. There was this… man made of shadows. It appeared in his room… he screamed… And by the time his polar bear got there, he was gone…"

Germany frowned. "What aren't you telling me? I know you're omitting something, come on, out with it."

"He… he was screaming _my name_, West. I had been there, talking to him, not even five minutes before it captured him. If I had stayed-"

"If you had stayed there would most likely be five missing Nations instead of four, and we could well be even further from solving this. If you hadn't been there America probably wouldn't have even heard Canada's voice. You're doing a lot more good than you would have just being with him."

"…Who's the older brother here, anyway?"

Germany chuckled. "Well, if that's all, let's go back to sleep. Tomorrow we can tell the others that if your vision is true, Italy and Canada at least are more or less alright."

"But he's not."

"What do you mean?"

"He's _not_ alright!"

Germany stared at his brother. "Prussia, what is it?"

"I-I saw… in my dream, in that cell, I was seeing through Birdie's eyes. I heard what he heard, felt what he felt, saw what he saw… and I saw _nothing_!"

"You mean-"

"Whatever that… that _thing_ did to him… He's _blind_, West!"

"There's no guarantee that's true. We'll have to ask when we find them."

Prussia nodded and closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. _I'm coming, Birdie. I'm coming. I'll find you, and we'll fix this, and then I'm never letting you out of my sight again._

_Just stay alive long enough for me to get there._

**So…**

**I've decided to be a terrible person and do this when I should be working on my AC stuff. Because Hetalia.**

**Anyways, I haven't actually read the manga or watched the anime yet. In other words, I really don't know how to write the characters. So how about this: if anyone can tell me anything about the characters I'll write you a Hetalia oneshot. More than just the basic stuff, please. For now I'll need to write Canada, Prussia, Italy, Germany, Japan, Romano, America, England, France, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, as well as any others you think I should add. I'll delete names from the list as I learn about the characters.**

**For the oneshot… Just put the character information in a comment or PM, as well as the pairing you want if there is one, characters involved, and basic plot. You can ask for any pairing except NationxReader – because no – but some pairings will go up faster than others. Also, you may have to give me character info for the oneshot as well, because I'm an idiot. Oh, and if you ask for Japanada it'll go up extremely fast most likely, because I ship them SO FUCKING HARD and that pairing needs more love. So, yeah, Japanada FTW.**

**Until chapter one, then. See you next time!**

**~Bird**


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